Heavy rainfall causes a flood. - In Aiwanger's opinion, flood plains wouldn't have benewitted during this predicament.
Aiwanger also called for more decentralized actions to improve flood protection. Each village needs to be assessed, and some smaller measures like raising cellar drains or securing heating oil tanks need to be considered. This will require a lot of brainpower in the region.
Flood meadows are areas that are enclosed and can be flooded during extreme floods. Aiwanger also mentioned the challenges associated with polder construction: it involves a lot of agricultural land, which would undoubtedly displease the affected landowners. Moreover, there's usually strong opposition from the public. Fundamentally, there's a need to devote more resources to flood protection, but he also cautioned against overextending the budget, saying, "The state treasury isn't bottomless."
The state government has faced criticism lately because they have completed just two of the seven large flood meadow projects, which were initially planned over two decades ago.
